"Singapore visit made me think, 'Is material wealth the ultimate aim of human beings?'"

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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/myanmar-should-not-seek-recreate-spores-policies

While she welcomed cooperation between the two countries, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday said her country should not seek to recreate Singapore’s policies and institutions.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference later in the evening, Ms Suu Kyi recounted her visit to ITE College East, where she made a remark to Singapore officials that “education in Singapore, as in many other countries, seems to be workforce oriented”.

“That made me think … what is the purpose of a workforce … of work … of material wealth? Is that the ultimate aim of human beings, is that what we all want? In a sense, I want to probe more into successes of Singapore and to find out what we can achieve beyond that.”

Ms Suu Kyi said that while “material achievement” is necessary for the Myanmar people so they can be “free from want”, they had survived many years of oppression with values such as love for each other, loyalty and spirituality. “So there were many things that helped us to survive that had little to do with material achievement,” she said.

While she was tight-lipped about her meetings with the Singapore leaders, Ms Suu Kyi told the press conference that in terms of relations between the two countries, Myanmar looks towards Singapore to learn from its education system and economics.

She, however, felt that Singapore also has room to learn from Myanmar, even as both countries shared many similarities in their history, such as colonialism and the struggle for independence. “Singapore could learn from us a more relaxed way of life. Perhaps, warmer and closer family relationships,” said Ms Suu Kyi.